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Tray of caramel pecan rolls showing the cinnamon filling spiral, soft dough, gooey caramel, and chopped pecans, ready to eat.

Caramel Pecan Rolls

Caramel pecan rolls are an ooey gooey cinnamon roll with all the good stuff baked on. They are perfect for special occasions like Christmas, or Easter. Or make them just because to make any weekend feel extra special!
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time40 minutes
Proofing Time1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time2 hours 30 minutes
Servings: 12 Sticky Buns
Author: Carlee

Ingredients

Dough

  • 1 cup whole milk
  • ¼ cup water
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar
  • 3 Tablespoons cornmeal
  • ¼ cup butter
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3½ - 4 cups all-purpose flour divided
  • 2½ teaspoons active dry yeast 1 package
  • 1 large egg

Carmel Topping

  • 1 cup light brown sugar packed
  • ¼ cup butter
  • ¼ cup whole milk
  • ½ cup chopped pecans optional

Cinnamon Filling

  • 2 Tablespoons butter
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Makes: 9 x 13inch rectangle

Instructions

Dough

  • In a medium saucepan, combine milk, water, sugar, butter, cornmeal, and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and let cool to about 120℉.
    Saucepan with boiled milk, butter, cornmeal, water, and salt inside.
  • In your mixer bowl, combined 1 cup of flour and yeast.
    Flour and yeast in mixer bowl, ready to make cinnamon roll dough.
  • Add cooled wet ingredients from the saucepan. Mix on low until smooth.
  • Add egg and ½ cup more flour. Mix on low speed for 1 minute.
  • Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough, about 2 more cups.
    Kind of shaggy, soft cinnamon roll dough in mixer bowl.
  • Knead for 6-8 minutes.
  • Place in a greased bowl. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
    Sticky bun dough in bowl covered with plastic wrap, ready to rise.

Caramel Topping

  • Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
  • Melt the butter, milk, and sugar together in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
    Saucepan with boiled milk, butter and brown sugar caramel mixture inside.
  • Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Once the mixture comes to a full boil, remove from the heat and pour into greased 9x13-inch pan. Sprinkle with pecans and set aside.
    9x13-inch pan with warm caramel mixture and chopped pecans inside.

Assembly

  • Once the dough has proofed, punch down. Then roll or pat into a 12x15-inch rectangle.
    Pressing out proofed cinnamon roll dough, getting ready to add cinnamon sugar filling.
  • Melt butter in small bowl. Stir in the sugar and cinnamon. Spread over the dough.
    Doug with melted cinnamon sugar butter spread over it, starting to roll it up to form cinnamon rolls.
  • Roll the dough from the long side. Pinch the seam together then cut into 12 equal pieces.
    Formed cinnamon roll dough over caramel sauce and pecans in glass baking dish.
  • Place over the caramel in the pan. Cover and let rise in a warm place until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes.
    Proofed cinnamon rolls after they have puffed up and doubled in size in pan with layer of caramel and pecans, ready to go in the oven.
  • Preheat oven to 375℉.
  • Remove cover and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
  • Let cool for about 5 minutes before inverting onto a serving platter or sheet pan. Best enjoyed warm.

Notes

MiMi suggests you double the caramel mixture for extra sticky buns.
You can omit the pecans or substitute another nut if you would like.
Overnight Instructions:
You can prep these caramel rolls the night ahead of time if you would like. Go ahead and take them to the point where you have the cinnamon rolls in the pan with the caramel sauce. Wrap the pan tightly with plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator overnight. When you wake up, take the pan out of the fridge and allow them to rise.
Of course, this will take a little bit longer with the cold dough. However, you can speed it up a bit if you use the warm oven trick. Once the rolls have risen, bake as directed and you will be enjoying tasty cinnamon buns in no time. It's a great way to avoid the mess in the morning.

Nutrition

Serving: 1sticky bun | Calories: 384kcal | Carbohydrates: 58g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 44mg | Sodium: 292mg | Potassium: 144mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 28g | Vitamin A: 361IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 63mg | Iron: 2mg
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